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UPDATED: A 22-year-old Swedish model has been hospitalized after allegedly being kidnapped, raped and beaten over a six month period by an Italian man in a town near Milan.

The 42-year-old man was arrested in Cinisello Balsamo after the alarm was raised by a neighbour who heard the woman screaming, La Repubblica reported.

The arrest came less than two years after he was released from prison after serving a sentence for kidnapping and raping a model from Belarus in May 2008, the newspaper said.

A spokesperson for the Swedish embassy in Rome told The Local that it was working alongside the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has been “made aware” that a woman, who was resident in southern Sweden, has been subjected to violence in Italy.

The Swedish model was allegedly beaten and raped over a six month period, and was found by police on Saturday morning in a “serious state of prostration, shock and malnutrition”.

She left Sweden for Milan last September in search of work, Corriere reported.

Once there, the newspaper reported that she “fell into the trap of a fake agent”, who she met through Facebook.

The man convinced her to stay with him while he helped her to find work, the newspaper said.

He also allegedly forced her to cut contact with people apart from her parents, who she was allowed to speak to via Skype and Facebook so as not to raise the alarm over her disappearance.

Milan is internationally recognized as one of the world's most important fashion capitals, alongside Paris, London and New York.

Fashion designers including Giorgio Armani, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana and Prada launched their careers in the city.